Dock of the Bay
by notPericles
Summary: As he walked towards the dock, he saw her. Just sitting there, on a bench overlooking the bay. Post finale, Rory/Logan
1. Wharf

_AN: Please excuse any huge mistakes on the part of San Francisco. There's only one or two paragraphs that might piss off a native San Franciscan, and please let me know how to fix it if it does._

_

* * *

_

It had been nearly a year since he had last seen her, and more than two since he had last kissed her, held her, really talked to her. And here he was, getting an email from her. One she didn't even realize she was sending to him.

"Hi, String. Frequent reader here, though I rarely comment. Just wanted to let you know that your comment about Obama isn't quite accurate. He might not be the most liberal politician out there, but, having followed him on the campaign trail for several months, I can assure you, he is definitely to the left of Lieberman. But keep up the good work! You are definitely my favorite blog out there."

She hadn't signed her name, but she hadn't changed her personal email address. _String_. Here she was, thinking she was sending an email to some anonymous blogger, when she was actually making contact with her ex. Logan grinned to himself. He knew there had to be some real perks to being the hot new blogger other than the masses of naked pictures he received, begging him to reveal his identity.

"Thanks so much for the compliment. And thank you for your correction. Living in San Fran you tend to forget how politics work in the real world. Keep reading, String."

_Send_.

Logan rarely replied to his _String_ emails, ever since he started getting more than 50 a day. But this was Rory – his Rory. Even after all this time, he couldn't help but think of her that way. He knew that sending the reply wouldn't do much in the long run. She still didn't know who he was. But it made him feel like he still had some sort of connection to her, even if he wasn't really sure he was ready for any Rory reconnection, at least not outside the safety of the computer.

He turned back to his real work – his passion. _String_ might be big enough now to bring in a modest income through advertising, but Logan was happy running his own company - Pnutech. It was his baby. He had nurtured it from infancy out of his San Francisco apartment into the 1950's architecturally modern building down the street that housed his company headquarters. Suddenly, Logan was in the big time, fielding calls from Google to turn down their offers to buy him out. He was enjoying himself too much to consider selling the company. And his partners were making enough money that they weren't about to complain.

But as happy as Logan was in his professional life, he was equally unhappy in his personal life. He had very few friends outside the office. Colin and Finn were, of course, a phone call away, and always up for a weekend away for a change of pace. However, both were still on the East coast, Colin working for his father, and Finn…. Well, no one was quite sure what it was Finn did.

But there was no one in San Francisco who Logan could talk to on a daily basis about something that didn't have to do with Pnutech. There was no one Logan could go out and grab a beer with while watching the game. Steve and Jake, the co-founders of Pnutech, were both great guys, but for some reason they saw Logan as the boss, and, while Logan was pretty sure they liked him, they never seemed to be able to shake their work personas outside of the office. So Logan accepted and kept their relationships on a purely business level.

The loneliness Logan felt much of the time was the reason he started _String_. It was a way for him to at least pretend he was having stimulating conversations during his off hours. And, somehow, his little blog became a big draw – subject to several thousand hits per day. Of course, that is the way of the internet. He managed to make a post early on that grabbed someone's attention, who then posted a link up on Digg, and, the next thing Logan knew, his site crashed from the influx of visitors. And a lot of them stuck around. Logan never quite figured out why, but he appreciated it anyway.

It was funny how it was that empty feeling, the one that Logan, in his nearly subconscious mind, attributed to Rory, lead to Rory contacting him now. As Logan was musing this, he heard a ping, telling him that he had new mail. He turned to check, and saw that it was a response from Rory. He hadn't expected that.

"Oh, I didn't realize you were in San Francisco. That explains a few things in your posts. I'm actually headed out there next week. Any suggestions on where I should go for a quality San Francisco experience? The only people I know out there only recently moved there, so I could still use a voice of experience."

Logan's brain seemed to freeze and then suddenly go into overdrive. _Rory is coming. Rory is coming. Rory is coming._ He didn't know why the idea was so scary to him. He knew there was little likelihood that he would actually see her. _Unless she decides to look me up._ He tried to smash down the thought as soon as it popped into his head. He had no reason to think that she had even considered the fact that he was in San Francisco when planning her trip, which was obviously a trip to visit friends who had just moved.

He considered replying again, but decided it was a bad idea. After all, if he gave her suggestions of where to go, he'd know where she was, and might be tempted to try to bump into her. So he deleted the message, and turned back to his work, trying hard to put the whole exchange out of his mind.

* * *

The next Saturday, Logan went for a jog down by the piers near Fisherman's Wharf. He had just finished his route and was going to head to his boat to grab a quick drink before heading back to his condo. His boat was his other true love these days. He had bought it six months after he moved out west and tried to get in a day of sailing whenever he could, which was less often than he'd like. As he walked towards the dock, he saw her. Just sitting there, on a bench overlooking the bay. She was sipping a cup of coffee and appeared to be deep in thought.

_Now what._ Logan couldn't decide what to do. Should he go say hi to her? Should he turn around and pretend he never saw her? He suddenly remembered what it was like the last time he had seen her.

_It was August, and Logan was back in Hartford to meet his new nephew. Honor had demanded his presence as soon after she gave birth as he could manage. As soon as he got off the plane, he had rushed to the first baby store he could find. While traversing the aisles, trying to decide if he should go for something expensive, or just something cute, he spotted her out of the corner of his eye, just as she saw him. _

_She half waved and he waved back. She walked over to him slowly, an almost confused look on her face._

"_Wow, Logan, I never thought I'd run into you here of all places," she said._

_Logan smiled. "Well, I'm an uncle now, so…"_

"_Oh, congratulations! Boy or girl?"_

"_It's a boy."_

"_Wow. Well, I'm just here picking up something for Lane. I missed the twins' birthdays."_

"_Oh."_

_They had both run out of things to say. They stood and stared at each other for a bit before Rory smiled again and gestured that she should be running. "It was nice seeing you, Logan."_

_She was gone before he could reply in kind._

While he was sure their first meeting could have been far more uncomfortable, Logan had no desire to repeat it. He turned to slink off just as he heard her voice call, "Logan?"

He stopped and turned back to her. He tried to look surprised but figured he wasn't fooling her. "Rory? Wow. What are you doing here?"

She had come right up to him, so close that he could touch without even extending his arm. "I'm in town for a couple of weeks. My friends just moved out here and asked me to help them get settled in."

"That's quite a big favor. All the way from the East Coast?"

"Oh, no, I'm living in Houston now. Although, that's kind of far, too. But they're close friends. My first friends in Houston."

"Oh."

They were both quiet for a minute. Logan began to feel that sick feeling he had felt the last time. It was the feeling that they weren't _them_ anymore. They were no longer a couple with the easy flow of conversation and knowing smiles. Perhaps they were both just considering how much they could reveal. How much they could say to fill what seemed to be the longest moment floating between them. The loss of _them_ hurt Logan more than anything else had hurt him since she had turned down his proposal.

"I was going to look you up while I was out here," Rory finally said.

That got Logan's attention. But all he could do was nod.

"So, I was wondering if you want to go grab a cup of coffee, catch up a bit?"

Logan's mind was racing again. He didn't know what to do. And he didn't have any time to consider what he _should_ do. She was standing right there, watching him watching her. He could see the moment she decided he was going to say no.

"Rory –" he started to say.

"No, right, I get it, don't worry," she started babbling.

"Rory, I would love to get a cup of coffee with you."

"Really? Oh, ok. Well, you're the Frisco here, so lead the way."

Logan started walking towards a coffee house that was only a few blocks away. He had his hands in his pockets, while she had her arms crossed. They were silent for the whole three blocks. After they ordered and sat down, Rory began catching Logan up with her whole life from the past two years, seemingly all in one breath.

"…And so that's where I am now. In Houston. Working for the Chronicle."

"Wow. It sounds like everything is going really great for you. All your dreams are coming together."

Rory's face pinched as if Logan had just said something repugnant. She quickly covered it with a smile. "Yeah, things aren't too bad. Not quite exactly to plan, but I can't really complain, I guess. Anyway, what about you? What are you up to? Are you still with the same company?"

"Everything is going pretty good. Same company, which is doing great. I'm enjoying the West Coast. But, overall, my life is pretty boring right now. Not much to talk about."

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true." She waited for Logan say something more, but he stayed quiet. "Well, what about your family? How're Honor and the baby?"

"Honor is fine. The baby is fine. I was out to see them for his first birthday just recently."

"Wow, a year already."

"Yep."

Another silence fell over them.

Rory, desperate to fill the void with something, began talking again. "Well, my family is all good. Mom's inn is really beginning to take off. It was featured in Yankee Magazine a couple of months ago, so they were all very excited about that." She paused to see if Logan would comment, but he just nodded. "And Dad is doing great, too. He's been seeing someone for a while now and seems really happy. G.G. loves her."

"It sounds like everyone is doing well. The same with Emily and Richard?"

Rory just nodded. She could tell he was bringing the conversation to an end.

"Well, Rory, it was really great to see you. I'm glad we bumped into each other." Logan stood up to leave.

"Yeah, I was thinking, maybe you could give me your number and we could go out to dinner while I'm in town. We could talk a bit more." Rory stood, too, and seemed desperate to keep Logan from walking away.

"Rory…" Logan began. He could see the disappointment already in Rory's eyes. But he had to continue. "It was nice talking to you, Rory. Really, it was. And I hope you have a wonderful life and all the happiness you deserve. But I….I don't think I'm quite ready for _this_." He turned and quickly walked out the door. Rory stood and watched him go, hoping he would at least turn back and look at her one last time. He didn't.


	2. Rocky

Rory sat staring at the door for several minutes after Logan had disappeared through it. She didn't know how to feel. She always knew there was only a small chance that Logan would be interested in exploring a relationship: part deux, two years after she had turned him down. But there had always been the hope that he would miss her as much as she missed him.

Now she was left with the reality that he had moved on. He wasn't interested in looking backwards. Either she had hurt him too much or waited too long, but one thing seemed certain- Logan had completely written her out of his life.

_He probably doesn't even think about me._ The thought made Rory's lip quiver. She quickly stood and left the coffee house. She was not about to break down in public. As she was leaving, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Rory! Where did you disappear to?"

"Sorry, Eden, I bumped into… an old friend. We went for coffee."

"Well, hurry back to the office. I can't seem to get the boys to start unpacking. They claim we should all be here to start together, though I'm sure they'll come up with some other stall tactic as soon as you arrive."

Rory smiled to herself. "Ok, I'm on my way."

Rory arrived at a slightly weathered-looking Victorian style building. Nothing about the building looked particularly inviting except for a gleaming gold plate with the inscription KALITH beside the worn oak door. Rory pushed the door open and went into a room where she found Max and Andrew, two of the PR company owners, surrounded by unopened cardboard boxes. Max looked up from a PR Week magazine that he was reading and spotted Rory in the doorway.

"Oh, good, Rory's here. Now we can go to lunch," Max said.

"See, Rory, what did I tell you?" Eden's voice came from another room. "If it's not one excuse, it's another." The short redhead walked into the large room carrying a box that looked like it weighed more than she did. Max and Andrew just looked up at her when she dropped it dramatically. She glared before turning to Rory. "So, how was your first taste of San Francisco? Was it everything you thought it would be?"

Rory considered the question for far longer than necessary. Eden was giving her an odd look. But it wasn't a simple question to Rory. Her first foray into the city was now tainted with her meeting with Logan. It was impossible for her to consider her thoughts of the city without thinking about him.

"Was it that bad?" Andrew asked, finally breaking the silence.

"What? Oh, no. No, San Francisco is beautiful. Really. Even more so than I had imagined."

"Yay! I knew you'd love it!" Eden clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Now we can start planning to look for an apartment for you. I think there's one available in the building I just moved into."

"Apartment? What?" Rory looked confused.

"Well, you love the city, right? So you'll take us up on the offer to become a partner. This is so exciting!"

"Rory's moving out here with us?" Max piped in. "That's great!"

"No, that's not what I meant. I don't know about moving out here. There's still a lot to consider."_ Like the fact that Logan never wants to see me again._ The thought popped into her head before she could stop it._ Logan has nothing to do with this. He never factored into me considering this offer_. Rory had been telling herself that for weeks. She was almost beginning to believe it.

"What's to consider?" Andrew asked. "You're miserable in Houston. You're miserable at the Chronicle. All your friends have just picked up and moved out to San Francisco. You have nothing holding you there and a great opportunity out here. Come on, you know you want to."

"All are good points which I will consider when I make my decision. But I came out here to help you guys set up your brand new office, so why don't we get started on that?"

With that, the four of them started unpacking and setting up the office, with only a few grumbles from the boys.

* * *

Hours later, after Rory had returned to her hotel, she finally allowed herself to think about Logan. In the privacy of her own room, she broke down thinking about the look on his face when he told her he didn't want to be a part of her life. She sobbed, alone on her bed, for a good fifteen minutes before the ringing of her phone got her attention.

_Mom._

Rory was in no position to talk to Lorelai right now. She silenced the phone and went into the bathroom to draw a bath. She soaked in the tub until her skin was all wrinkled. She got out and discovered Lorelai had called two more times and left a message.

Rory rolled her eyes as she picked up the message. "Rory, c'mon, pick up the phone. First you decide to use your vacation time to go out to California, rather than coming home to visit your mother. And now you aren't even answering my calls. Well, call me, so I know you're alive."

Feeling slightly more composed, Rory decided it would be easier to just get the call over with. Lorelai picked up after one ring.

"Rory? Where are you? Are you ok?"

"Yes, Mom. I'm fine. I was taking a bath. I'm sorry I wasn't able to answer the phone the exact minute you called me."

"Are you pissed at me for being a concerned parent?"

"No, Mom. I'm just tired. I had a long day."

"San Francisco isn't turning out to be everything you'd hoped for?"

"San Francisco is great. It's beautiful here. In fact, Eden and the guys almost have me convinced to move out here." That wasn't exactly true, but she wanted to see what Lorelai's reaction would be.

"Move to California? Honey, isn't Houston far enough away from home? Besides, what would you do out there?"

"I don't know. We were talking about me coming on as a partner at their new company."

"I'm confused. What would a PR firm need with a journalist?"

"I wouldn't be working as a journalist if I did that."

Lorelai was quiet for a minute. "Is this about Logan? Are you giving up on all our dreams just so you can live in the same city as the guy who left you because you didn't want to fit into some neat little life he had planned alone?"

"No, Mom, this isn't about Logan. This is about me. This is about the fact that I've been miserable in Houston, and –"

"Of course you've been miserable in Houston! Who wouldn't be? You really should think about moving back here. There are thousands of papers you could work for out here."

"It's not Houston that's the problem! I've been trying to tell you this for the past year, but you refuse to listen! Maybe I don't want to be a journalist. Maybe I picked the wrong field."

"Rory, you worked your whole life for this! I can't believe you would just give it up for some guy."

"Are you even listening to me? Mom, I don't know if you've noticed, but it's been over two years since I broke up with Logan. Why would you even think this has anything to do with him?"

"Because I know you, Rory. And I know how you work. Remember Chilton? How you decided you didn't want to go because of Dean? And you dropped out of Yale because you were dating Logan."

"I WAS 16!!!" Rory shouted into the phone. "I was 16 when I met Dean. Do you really think that I haven't matured at all in the past eight years? And, please, when are you ever going to get over the Yale thing? It wasn't because of Logan. It had nothing to do with him."

"Oh, Rory. Stop trying to fool yourself. The smartest thing you ever did was turning him down."

"Mom, I'm going to hang up now before we both say anything we might regret. Good night." She hung up before Lorelai could get another word in. She turned off her phone so she wouldn't have to listen to the incessant ringing she knew was inevitable.

_What's happened to us?_ It's a question Rory had pondered many times over the past year or so. They used to be so close. Even after their relationship had changed when they made up following Rory's brief break from Yale they had still been closer than most mothers and daughters. Rory still considered Lorelai her best friend, but it bothered her that Lorelai seemed to think it was a given that Rory would move back home after she finished her stint with Clio. She took it as a personal offense that Rory wanted to branch out. She couldn't seem to accept that she had inadvertently raised her daughter to be independent enough to want to live nearly two thousand miles away from her.

Of course, this also fell out around the time that Luke and Lorelai's latest try at a relationship had been unsuccessful, and for the final time. Luke moved out to New Mexico to be closer to his daughter, after their romance had crashed and burned again. So Rory could understand Lorelai's feelings of abandonment, initially. But as the months went on, and Lorelai continued to make catty comments about Houston and seemed to be constantly pouting about Rory's choices, Rory could was less inclined to excuse her mother's behavior and began distancing herself emotionally from her. She avoided her calls a lot. She had only been home once since moving to Houston. All this seemed to just make Lorelai even worse, and Rory feel even more alone than ever.

And now, here she was, lying to herself and everyone else that San Francisco had nothing to do with Logan. There were a thousand reasons why she should take the job, but one very big reason why she wasn't going to. _Logan never wants to see me again._ She didn't think she'd be able to live in the same city as Logan and know he was completely inaccessible to her.

So her decision was made. She couldn't even think of a reason to stay for the whole two weeks she had planned. She pulled out her computer to start looking for return flights and noticed she had new mail.

_From: String_

Rory smiled to herself. She had never expected her favorite blogger to reply to her first message, and had given up hoping for a second email after several days had passed.

"I hope I managed to catch you before your trip ended. I've been thinking about where to tell you to go while you are out here, and, as corny and touristy as it sounds, I really think everyone should visit Alcatraz at least once. So that is my advice to you. Enjoy!"

Rory began typing a response. "Thank you for the tip, but, unfortunately, I have to cut my trip short. I was actually out here to consider a job offer and I've decided not to take it, so I don't think there's really any reason for me to stay any longer. I mean, what, should I just mope around the city, dwelling on the fact that my ex-boyfriend hates me? Or should I try to attempt to insert myself into his life like I was secretly planning to do when considering the job? God, I'm still hung up on a guy I've barely spoken to in two years enough that I would consider completely flipping my life around just on the chance that he might still love me. Or at least not hate me. But that was too much to ask for. And now I'm sitting here and telling a total stranger my whole life story just because I have no one else to talk to. See? Loser."

Rory reread the email and couldn't believe what she had just written, she went to click the discard button, but her hand was just so used to automatically hitting send that she missed and sent the message.

_Oh, fuck._


	3. Finn

The utter embarrassment of sending that message successfully distracted Rory from purchasing her ticket back to Houston. She spent the next twenty minutes trying to think of something to write to make the last email disappear. There was nothing she could say that wouldn't further humiliate her. She finally talked herself into going to bed and forgetting about it. After all, it was just some guy inside her computer that she would never meet in real life. What difference could it possibly make if he knew she was a total dork?

* * *

Logan got home from a long day immersed in work. He had been trying very hard not to think of Rory. It hadn't worked very well. At some point, he had even logged into his String email account and sent off a reply to her last email. He wasn't sure why he had done that, but somehow it had made him feel better.

But now he was home and ready to pass out, and hope she didn't visit his dreams. He was pretty sure she would, despite his wishes, but he was tired enough not to really care. He was just going to quickly check his email and make sure there were no emergencies before getting his eight hours. That's when he saw the email from Rory.

He didn't know what to think at first. While it had been obvious that Rory was disappointed that Logan didn't want to have anything to do with her, Logan hadn't really thought she wanted to pick up where they left off. He figured she just wanted to be friends or something. Relieve her guilt for the way she ended things. From what she said in the email it sounded like she wanted more than that. Maybe even a lot more.

Logan had spent the past two years convincing himself that it was for the best that Rory was out of his life. He had moved on, or so he told himself. And he was happy. Sure, he was kind of lonely at times, but that wasn't because of Rory. It was because he had moved across the country and thrown himself into his new company with such dedication that he had never had time to find a new circle of friends. He missed having friends, not a girlfriend. Or wife, his brain couldn't help but throw out there.

But the bottom line was, any small feelings of pleasure or desire that he felt after reading the email he knew came from the feeling of nostalgia for his old life and friends. Not for Rory herself. Which is why he really didn't know how he managed to write the email he found he had already written and sent.

"Are you really going to let some guy dictate what you're going to do with your life? If you want to move out here, do it. Do you really want to pass up what could be a great opportunity in order to avoid one person? In a city of millions I'm sure there's plenty of space for both of you."

The thought that this email might actually convince her to stay sent a feeling of warmth and contentment through Logan, followed quickly by panic. His head and heart were in two completely different places, and he had no idea what to do. So he did the only thing that made any sense. He called Finn.

"Bloody hell, Logan. Do you know what time it is?" Finn asked after one ring.

"What, am I disturbing your sleep? Or something else?" Logan replied.

He could hear the grin in Finn's voice. "Maybe a bit of both. Hang on a sec." Logan could hear Finn's muffled voice talking to someone. "Okay, I'm back. Mind telling me why you are calling at this hour? You're not in jail are you?"

"Finn, I haven't called you to bail me out in the middle of the night since Yale. That was years ago."

"Well, you've never called me in the middle of the night for anything else. So what's wrong?"

Logan sighed. "It's Rory."

"Rory? Did something happen? Is she okay?" Finn's voice had turned panicked.

"No, nothing like that. It's just... She showed up in town. And I ran into her."

"Oh, mate, why didn't you say so? Do you want me to fly out there tomorrow and we can get good and trashed and swear off women? That always seems to relieve your Rory-funks."

"Rory-funks?" Logan scoffed. "I don't have Rory-funks."

"I beg to differ. Every few months over the past couple of years you get into a funk. And when Colin and I get you nice and drunk, you start going on about Rory and how she's ruined your life. So, yes, you do have Rory-funks. Now how about we get you out of this one."

"Finn, I'm being serious here. Rory showed up and stuff happened and I need to talk to someone about it."

"Stuff happened, you say?" Finn smirked. "I hope you used a condom. You have no idea where she's been in the last two years."

"Finn, no. Not that stuff. We had coffee. And then she emailed me. Only she didn't know she emailed me. And she told me stuff. Stuff I shouldn't know. Stuff I don't know what to think about. And then I emailed her. And I told her to move to San Francisco. And what if she does, Finn? What if she does? What will I do?"

"Logan, I don't even understand half the things you just said. Let me come out there tomorrow. I'll bring Colin, if he's not too busy, and we'll forget about this. Can I go back to sleep now?"

"But what do I do, Finn?"

"Right now you go to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow and we'll figure out what the hell you're talking about. Okay?"

Logan acquiesced and hung up the phone. He told himself that it would all be fine. Finn and Colin were coming. They would fix everything. That thought was so ridiculous that Logan started laughing aloud. That got him out of his funk (though he still refused to believe it was a Rory-funk) enough so he could pass out until morning.


	4. Regrets

Rory awoke to the hotel room's phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Rory! There you are. We've been trying your phone for an hour," Eden said from the other end of the line.

Rory reached for her cellphone, which was sitting next to the room phone. It was turned off. "Oh, right. I got into it with my mom last night and turned it off."

Eden knew about Rory's history with her mother. "Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, it's fine. I'm fine." Rory sighed as she said this. She wasn't fine, but it had nothing to do with Lorelai.

"Well, meet us at the office in an hour. We still have some setting up to do."

"Actually, Eden, I don't think I can make it. I was thinking I might go back to Houston today."

"What? Rory, no, we need you. You and your lists. You came out here to help us and you're not even going to stay two days? That's bullshit, Rory. You know better than to let your mom get to you like this. Meet us at the office and we'll figure it all out. Okay?"

"Okay," Rory said, defeatedly. Rory knew better than to argue with Eden, especially since she knew she was right.

They hung up and Rory showered and dressed. She checked her email before she left and saw that there was a response from String. Too embarrassed to even imagine what the response was, she left it unread and left the hotel room.

***

"So, are we going to talk about it?" Eden asked Rory later when they were unpacking books.

"Talk about what?" Rory asked, too distracted with her task to follow the conversation.

"Your mom? Ring a bell?"

"Oh, that. It was really nothing. She was just upset when I told her I was considering moving out here."

"So you're really considering it? Can we order business cards for you yet?"

"Well, about that…" Rory began.

"That sounds like you're going to say no, which I refuse to hear. You're going to stay here for the whole week like you planned, and we are going to woo you until you give in. You know you can't resist us for too long."

Rory smiled. "It's just… There are circumstances that you don't know about."

Eden looked intrigued. She glanced around and decided Max and Andrew must be busy in another room. "Do you have a secret lover in Houston that you've never told me about?"

"Ha. No. Nothing like that. Quite the opposite, in fact."

"The opposite? What does that mean?"

"Look, can we talk about it later? I just want to get these boxes done, and then we can take a break."

Eden nodded and went back to work. She hoped Rory would confide in her. She knew that ever since they had first told Rory about the big move to San Francisco that something had been off, but had figured it was just the idea that all her friends would be abandoning her in Houston. But that "off"ness seemed to have gotten worse, not better, since they asked her to join their venture.

They worked mostly in silence for the next half hour. When they had finished putting away all the books Rory straightened up and said, "Okay, let's go tell the boys we're getting out of here for a bit."

"I'm sure they'll really like that."

"Well, too bad for them if they don't. We've been working non-stop while they've spent the last hour goofing off."

They walked into the room that had been designated the break room and, like Rory had said, found the guys sitting around doing nothing. As soon as they saw the girls they jumped up and tried to act busy.

"Okay, boys, we're taking our break now," Eden said. "We'll be back in an hour or so. Try to actually get something done."

Eden and Rory left the office and went to a nearby coffee house. When they both had their coffees they found a table and sat quietly for a moment.

"So what's going on, Rory?" Eden finally asked.

Rory sighed and took another sip of her coffee. "Have I ever told you about the proposal I turned down?"

"Proposal? Like a marriage proposal?"

Rory nodded.

"No, I don't think that ever came up. When was this?"

"The day I graduated from Yale. He asked, I said no, and I've been regretting it ever since."

Eden was shocked. She knew Rory hadn't dated anyone seriously in all the time she'd known her but she never would have guessed she was still hung up on an ex. "Did you ever try to get in touch with him?"

"We ran into each other once, about a year ago. Until I saw him I never even acknowledged that I had made a terrible mistake. I thought I was happy. I had convinced myself I was. But seeing him brought everything back and I realized how much my life was missing without him in it."

"So you spent the last year thinking about this and now want to move back East to make amends?"

"If only it were that easy. No, he's not in Connecticut anymore. He's actually in San Francisco."

"He's here? That's great! All the more reason to take us up on our offer."

Rory shook her head. "No. He's the old friend I ran into yesterday." Rory paused and started to tear up. "Eden, he hates me. He wants nothing to do with me. I can't move here and know he's somewhere in the same city and I can't even talk to him. I can't do it."

Eden reached over and patted Rory comfortingly. "I know you're really upset over this, but do you really want to make a decision like this while you're this emotional? Maybe you should go back to Houston early. Take some time and think about it. The offer is good for whenever you're ready."

Rory gave her a tight smile. "Yeah, I think I need to put some distance between this city and me. I promise I'll think about it when I get back there. I'll even make lists."

Eden chuckled as they got up to return to unpacking.

***

Rory got back to the hotel late, after spending the night celebrating the move with Eden, Andrew and Max. She was planning to leave in the morning if she could find a flight, so they had all said their goodbyes and extracted promises that they would see each other soon.

Rory turned on her laptop to check the available flights. Her mail icon jumped and informed her she had 59 unread messages. She scanned the mail and deleted all the spam. There were three messages from her mother, but Rory wasn't in the mood to read them. She saw the message from String sitting there. After hovering over the message for a bit she finally worked up the courage to click it and read it.

***

Eden had just gotten into bed for the night when her phone rang. The caller ID read _Rory_.

"Hello?"

"Eden, forget everything I said. I'm staying."


	5. Excellent

A/N: Look! An update! I've actually had this mostly done for a few weeks, but I was going to hold off on posting it until I had the next chapter done as well. I decided to post early in hopes of getting word out about a Rory/Logan fic exchange that I'm helping out with and participating in. Please visit my profile to find the link to it, and if you write already or have ever wanted a good excuse to start writing, sign up! (But don't sign up if you don't think you'll be able to complete it.) Right now the deadline hasn't been set, so go read the post about deadlines to make your opinion heard on that, as well. And be sure to tell all your friends!

(Note: The exchange is set up on Dreamwidth right now, but you don't have to worry about getting an account there. Anonymous comments are accepted or you can log in with OpenID.)

Also, I just wanted to thank you all for the reviews on my short one shot I posted last week. And for the person wondering how to get a Logan-version of Gilmore Girls, you just have to get a regular version, but fast forward through all the non-Logan scenes. :)

* * *

As promised, Finn and Colin showed up on Logan's doorstep the next morning.

"Morning, Logan," Finn said as he pushed past Logan into the house.

"Morning," Logan yawned. "Did you take the first flight out?"

"According to Finn, this was an emergency and you might die if we didn't leave the house at four-fucking-AM," Colin grumbled.

"Ignore him. Colin's still upset that I woke him up so early."

"You broke into my house, Finn! Of course I'm upset!"

"Well, I've told you to give me a key. It's not my fault you won't listen to me."

Logan listened to the two bicker for a few more minutes before stepping in. "Ok, can we move on, yet? I'm supposed to be at work in 45 minutes. Should I call in sick?"

Finn looked at Logan incredulously. "Of course you should call in sick! We're going to Vegas! Tell them you've got the swine. That'll give you at least a week."

Logan rolled his eyes, but did as Finn said.

* * *

Logan was sitting at a bar, nursing his scotch, while Finn flirted with the redheaded bartender and Colin played craps. Vegas wasn't doing much to cheer him up. They had been there for two days already, and Logan couldn't even get into the spirit of blowing through his money gambling. All he could think about was Rory. Had she read his email? Did she decide to make the move? Was she going to try to contact him again? _Did he want her to?_

"Logan, did you hear that?" Finn asked, without looking away from the redhead.

"Huh?"

"Angie here just asked if we'd like to join her for dinner tonight. She's got a friend for you."

"Yeah, her name is Carol and she's really hot," Angie added with a grin.

"You hear that, Logan? Carol is really hot!"

"I heard that, Finn. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm just not in the mood for company tonight. I think I'll head back up to the room and order room service." Logan stood and tossed back his drink.

"Aww, come on man, let's go have a good time. We'll get you out of this Rory-funk," Finn said.

Logan paused while putting on his jacket. He gave Finn a scathing look. "I am _not _in a Rory-funk. I do not _have_ Rory-funks. I've been over her for two fucking years!" With that he turned and stormed out of the bar and into the lobby. Finn caught up with him as he was waiting for the elevator.

"Logan, I'm sorry. I won't mention Rory-funks ever again, I promise."

Logan just nodded silently, while watching the numbers move above the elevators.

"Are you finally ready to tell me what this is all about?" Finn asked.

"Aren't you busy tonight?"

"I told Angie I can't make it tonight. Let's go order room service and you can tell me what you meant by all that gibberish you told me over the phone."

Logan looked at Finn. "All right, Finn. Do you want to get Colin, too, or should we leave him to it?"

"Let him keep playing. He hasn't lost enough money yet. A few thousand more and they'll probably comp our rooms."

* * *

"So that's where the situation stands as of now. My alter-ego told the girl who broke my heart to move to the same city I live in. And I'm not sure whether to be happy about it or not."

"This is a lot more complicated than I was expecting. I think we need another bottle." Finn picked up the phone to order more wine.

"Any ideas that don't involve alcohol?"

"Of course," Finn scoffed. "But first let's get the next one open. The ideas flow better while the wine breathes."

"Like you'll ever give wine the chance to breathe before drinking it."

"I always do! I mean, there's at least three or four more cups in the bottle, breathing away, while I'm drinking the first."

Logan laughed. He felt more relaxed after talking to Finn than he had in nearly a week. Maybe that was all he really needed. Someone to listen to his problems. That was what he missed most about living near his friends. People to talk about your life with. He had plenty of people to talk business, and any business problem he had, there was no shortage of eager employees who wanted to help solve them. But anything outside the office remained pent up inside with no outlet.

"Ah, here we go," Finn said in response to the knock at the door. He got up and let room service push a cart in with three bottles on it. The man uncorked the first one and left the other two on the table while clearing away the dinner dishes.

"Three, Finn?"

"Just in case. Always be prepared, is my motto."

"I think you're thinking of Boy Scouts, actually."

"Yes, well, I would have made an excellent Scout if it weren't for that incident with the knot tying." He tipped the man and closed the door. "Now then, what are you going to do about Rory?"

"Maybe I should just ignore her? Block her address from my String email account. Pretend none of this ever happened."

"That's one choice. Or, you could keep corresponding with her as String and see what you find out."

"What? Why would I do that? What would I possibly find out that would be worth the agony?"

"I don't know, maybe that she still loves you? Or maybe why she turned you down? Or how much she regrets that?"

Logan stared into his glass. "But even if she still loves me and gives me a really good explanation for turning me down and regrets it more than anything in her life, what do I do with that? Do I just take her back?"

"YES! Logan, you've been pining for the girl forever, it seems like. If she really wants you, and the whole package that goes along with that, you should jump at the chance to take her back."

"But what if she changes her mind? Why would I willing put myself through that agony again? I've come so far since the last time, I would just be putting myself back at square one."

"But you haven't come so far! You're still in agony and likely will be for life. She's the love of your life, and that's not going to change anytime soon."

"Well," Logan started, considering his words, "I suppose I can give it a try. See where it leads me. I mean, it can't hurt too much, can it?"

"Not at all." Finn had a huge grin on his face, satisfied that he had made his point. "Now then, let's fire up that computer of yours and see if there are any emails from her."

"What, right now?"

"Yes, right now. What better time move forward with the plan than right now?" Finn jumped up from his seat and ran to the desk where Logan's laptop had been left, turned off since they had arrived in Vegas.

"Finn, we're both stinking drunk. Let's wait until morning." Logan poured himself another glass without paying attention to what Finn was doing.

"Ah, ha!" Finn cried. "Look, Logan! There's a message from her!"

"What?" Logan turned and saw the glowing light of his laptop. He approached carefully, sure that Finn would not have been able to access his String account. But, no, there his Gmail account, along with an unread message from Rory Gilmore. "How did you get my password?"

"You left yourself logged in. It didn't take a master hacker to do. Now, sit yourself down and open the email." Finn pushed Logan into the chair.

The cursor hovered over the the message, waiting for Logan to click the mouse. He reached for the button, and squeezed his eyes shut, just in case he changed his mind.

"There, now, that wasn't so bad, was it? Let's see what she has to say." Finn leaned over Logan's shoulder to get a better view.

"String,

Thank you so much for your message. You have no idea how much it meant to me. I was seriously ready to go back to my miserable job and my lonely life in Houston rather than take advantage of the huge opportunity my friends were providing me with. I couldn't see what an idiot I was being until your message. I've decided to stay here, and I have you to thank for that. I guess this means we're practically neighbors now!

Thanks again,

Rory"

Logan let out a breath he had been holding. She was going to do it. She was going to take his advice. He still didn't know how he felt about it.

"Well, look at that. You're going to be neighbors! You should ask to borrow a cup of sugar. That's how all the best porn starts."

"Thank you, Finn. That's just the sort of encouragement I need." Logan rolled his eyes.

"Well, what are you going to write back?"

Logan contemplated how he could respond before reaching for the keyboard.

"Rory,

I'm just glad that I could help anyone make a decision that will make them happy. Now that we will be neighbors, I'll be sure to let you know if I hear about anything fun happening around the city. I'm usually too busy working to actually attend, but I hear about all sorts of things. Let me know what neighborhood you decide to settle in. I probably can tell you where the best coffee shops are within a five block radius of everywhere in this city.

Lo--"

"Logan, you're typing your own name!"

"Huh? Oh." Logan quickly corrected his mistake and sent the email off. "And so begins our master plan."

"Excellent," Finn said in his best Mr. Burns imitation.

_

* * *

_

_Three weeks later_

Rory checked her email for the millionth time that morning. She was disappointed not to find anything from String. They had begun a regular correspondence a few weeks earlier, and she was beginning to depend on a message waiting for her when she woke up every morning. They never talked about anything too serious, but he always managed to make her laugh, and always brightened her day. This was the first time she had ever had a friend over the internet, and she found it freeing that she didn't know anything personal about him, and he knew almost nothing personal about her. They could talk politics, entertainment, business, anything, without worrying about the other's motives.

She often wondered what he looked like, or how old he was, but she never asked. It would ruin the picture she had in her head. She imagined he was a middle-aged professor, probably of political science at a small liberal arts college, who was a bit rumpled but still had his looks. Her vision of him was way too old for her, so she didn't worry about any personal romantic feelings getting in the way of their relationship.

Rory sighed as she checked once again, and still there was nothing. Today was her last day in Houston. She had given her two weeks notice before she even returned from her trip, and she had spent the last week finishing up her packing and getting ready for the move. She wasn't taking too much with her. Mostly just her books and her clothes. She had sold or given away everything else, and she was planning to move in with Eden for now. Eden had found a great two-bedroom apartment and had planned on finding a roommate if Rory decided not to make the move.

Eden had flown down the night before, and they had packed up Rory's car and were driving back to San Francisco. Anything they couldn't fit in the car would be shipped.

"Come on, Rory. It's time to pack up the computer. We've got to get going." Eden popped her head into the almost empty bedroom. All that was left was a sleeping bag and a small lamp. And, of course, Rory's laptop.

"Just one second. This is the last contact I'll have with the internet for days. I just want to see if I have any email."

Eden smirked. "You mean any of your mystery emails that you won't tell me about?"

"Yes, those. Here, I'll finish rolling up the sleeping bag and take the lamp down to the car, but don't shut my laptop down yet. I just want to give it a few more minutes."

Rory's diligence paid off. When she returned from the car, there was a message waiting.

"Morning, Rory. Sorry this is short, but I'm in the middle of a big project at work. I'll probably be incommunicado for a few days. Hope your move is easy. If you need any strapping young men to do the heavy lifting, let me know. I know where to find some great day laborers. ;)"

Rory chuckled. For a moment she had been concerned that String was going to offer to help her move. She wasn't sure how she would have responded to that. She knew that living in the same city, talking everyday as they were, the subject of meeting would probably come up, but she wanted to put it off for as long as possible. With a smile on her face, Rory composed her reply.

"I was getting worried when I hadn't heard from you by now. Good luck with work. I'll be out of range for the next few days as well. For some reason, the government hasn't gotten around to installing Wi-Fi on highways."

With that, Rory happily shut down her computer and placed it in its case. She joined Eden for one last look around the apartment to make sure nothing had been left behind.

"Well, this is it. I'm really moving," Rory said as they walked out the door. She locked it and then took the key off her keychain to leave with the building manager.

"And I'm so glad you are. Being surrounded by just the boys for the past weeks has been hell. Nice to know we'll have some more estrogen to go around."

Rory laughed as they made their way to the elevator. As the doors closed, she caught a last glimpse of her apartment and thought about how the door was closing on this chapter of her life-in a good way. _Goodbye Houston, Hello San Francisco!_

_

* * *

_

Logan arrived home from work just before midnight, as he had every night that week. The stress of the upcoming release at work was killing him. He was running on three hours of sleep a night and lots and lots of coffee. The good thing was the hard part was over. While there was still a lot to do, the brunt of it now fell on the rest of his staff. So, with that in mind, Logan poured himself a large glass of scotch and settled in at his computer. He hadn't checked his personal email in days. And his String account was probably flooded with emails from concerned followers. Any time he went a few days with no new content, everyone always thought he was dead.

After replying to a few emails from Finn, Colin and Honor, while ignoring the rest, Logan pulled up his website and shot off a quick post assuring everyone was that everything was fine, along with a few comments and links on the latest developments in the health care debate.

"That should keep them busy for a few hours," Logan thought. He turned to his Gmail account. He had left it to last, knowing he shouldn't be expecting an email from her yet, but not wanting the disappointment of confirming that quite yet.

He slowly worked his way through them, purposely going to the oldest first. He tossed most, or replied with a simple "Thank you." While there was a lot to go through, it didn't take him too long. He got to the top and let out a disappointed sigh. Nothing. He knew she was probably still on the road. Knowing Rory, she was going to take a scenic route and make the trip fun. But that didn't temper his disappointment.

Logan rose and brought his glass to the kitchen. He was trying to decide if he should wash it and go to bed or pour another, when he heard his Gmail notifier ding. He ran back to his computer and, sure enough, there was an email from Rory.

"String,

I _just_ arrived, after spending way too long in the car, and I decided that you should be the first person to know that I'm here. I hope your work stuff has calmed down, and you are fast asleep right now, and not still stuck at your desk. Have a good night, neighbor!"

Logan grinned. He was the first person she informed when she arrived. Or, well, String was. At that thought, Logan frowned. Was it possible to be jealous of yourself? And what was there to be jealous for, anyway? He didn't want her back. Right? What was Finn's evil plan again?

* * *

Rory was unpacking the few essentials she would need for her first night. She had already found her bedding, hung up some clothes that were already dangerously wrinkled, and placed a few books on the bedside table. She was ready to start recovering from four days in the car. Eden couldn't stop cursing Rory for deciding to make the road trip "fun" by planning lots of detours. By day three, Rory had begun to regret it herself.

Rory went to the desk to put her laptop to sleep, before following suit herself. She paused when she saw she had a new message.

"Well, I'm not stuck at my desk, but I did just get home about an hour ago. But the hard part is done and the next few weeks will be like a vacation compared to this last week.

Glad to hear you made it in OK. Hope you had fun along the way. But not too much fun. It'll make San Francisco seem lame in comparison."

Rory smiled. She was surprised at how disappointed she had been not to find a message waiting for her when she arrived, even though she knew not to expect one. But it was somewhat of a relief to receive a response so soon after she had sent hers.

Rory considered sending a response back before going to sleep, but decided to wait until morning. She closed her computer and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

Logan was feeling restless. He had been living in the same city as Rory for two weeks now, and he was in a sort of limbo, communicating with her as String, but not _really_ communicating with her. He had started to jump every time his phone rang, worried _(hoping?)_ it might be her. It never was. And Rory hadn't mentioned him or any other guy in her correspondence with String. Logan wasn't sure whether he should be relieved or disappointed about that fact.

And now a new problem arose. Rory had asked String for his opinion about a bar her friends were planning to take her to. He knew where she was going to be and when. That knowledge was eating away him. He was tempted to casually drop by and pretend it was a coincidence. In fact, he had already planned what he was going to say. He was going to tell her that he was meeting a girl. Of course, he would pretend to get a call from said-girl and have her cancel, but he was going to make her think he had moved on.

If only he could figure out if that was a good idea.

* * *

"Anyone need a refill?" Rory asked her friends.

"Another round all around, I think," Eden replied.

Rory waited at the bar to try to get the bartender's attention.

"Come on, Ace," Rory heard from beside her. "Has it been so long that you've forgotten everything I taught you?"

Rory turned in surprise to see Logan sitting on the stool next to her, nursing a glass of something amber. Rory narrowed her eye. He looked like he was already well on his way to wasted.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Apparently helping you get a drink." Logan pulled out a twenty dollar bill and held it where the bartender could spot it. Within moments, he had his attention.

"What can I get for you?" the bartender asked as he pocketed the twenty.

"Another round for table 5," Rory responded. She turned back to Logan as the bartender turned to make the drinks. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Ace," Logan said, shortly.

"What?" Rory asked.

"What, what?"

"You're being short. Are you annoyed with me or something? Do you think I came here to ruin your evening? I had no idea you would be here. I'm not stalking you or anything. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have people waiting for me." Rory grabbed the tray the bartender had set out for her and headed back to her table.

"Rory, wait." Logan jumped up and followed her.

"Why? So you can blame me for more things that aren't my fault? Tell me how I'm ruining your life by breathing?"

"No, look, I'm sorry. I'm in a bad mood. My date stood me up and I'm taking it out on you." Logan silently commended himself for remembering to mention the part about a date, despite his liquor soaked brain.

"That gives you no right to treat me like I'm nothing more than an inconvenience."

"You're right. Let me make it up to you. I'll buy you and your friends a drink."

"No thanks." Rory turned to return to her table.

Logan sighed. He could see her friends were looking at them. It had been a mistake to come here. He knew that. "I'm sorry, again. I'll go." Logan turned to the table of Rory's friends and called out, "Sorry. Really."

Rory watched Logan walk towards the door, realizing she didn't entirely like that he was leaving. "Logan, wait!"

Logan looked back in surprise. He came back to where Rory was still standing with the tray of drinks.

"Logan, why don't you join us. It's better than drinking alone, right?" Rory tried to smile, but knew it didn't quite reach her eyes.

Logan considered what this drink could do to his tenuous grip on sobriety, but then decided to go for broke. He was going to have a drink.

* * *

Logan awoke with a start. He winced in pain as the light from the open window hit his eyes. He tried to turn over, but there was a body in his way. Logan froze. A body. A decidedly female body. A naked, female body. Logan tried to remember what had happened the previous night, but it all went a bit hazy after his argument with Rory. Oh, god, _Rory._

Logan pried one eye open and looked down at the head resting on his naked chest. Brunette. He carefully pushed the hair away from her face and confirmed his fear.

_I just slept with Rory-fucking-Gilmore. Oh, fuck!_


	6. Mistakes

A/N: I don't love this chapter and for some reason it wasn't very easy to write, but I wanted it done before the deadline to sign up for the R/L Fic Exchange. (Details in my profile if you want to sign up! Deadline is tonight!) Hopefully you like it more than I do.

* * *

Rory woke up slowly. She could feel the weight of too much alcohol the previous night before she even opened her eyes. The closing of a door forced her into full consciousness. She glanced at the clock. Where was Eden going before 8 am on a Saturday? Rory stretched and felt a chill as her bare arms were exposed above her blankets. She looked down and realized she wasn't wearing a top. She then lifted the covers and found she was completely naked.

The night began to come back to Rory in snippets: Logan sitting close to her in the bar; Rory touching his arm as she told a story. Logan leaning towards her with his signature smirk; Rory pulling him close as she brought her lips to his. The taxi back to her place. The clothes flying as they made their way to her bed. The feeling of finally being whole again, finally back where she belonged.

Rory let out a sob as she realized what had happened and how alone she now felt. She knew Logan wasn't in the bathroom or in the kitchen making her breakfast in bed. He was gone again.

* * *

"Logan, do you realize what time it is?" Finn asked through the phone.

"It's nearly noon for you, Finn."

"Yes, on a Saturday. Call me back when it's dark out again."

"Finn, wait."

"What is it?"

"The plan backfired."

"What does that mean? What plan?"

"The plan to figure out what Rory is thinking."

"Ah, yes, Operation: PANSIE."

"Operation: Pansy? What? We never gave it a name."

"I did. _PANSIE_. Pathetic Admirer's Neurological Search vIa Email. I used the _I_ in via. It works."

"Whatever, Finn. I don't care what the plan is called. It backfired."

"How so?"

"I slept with her."

"You slept with Rory? Good job, mate! I knew Operation: PANSIE would work."

"It didn't work! This isn't a good thing!"

"How can it not be a good thing? You're back with Rory. Everything worked out just like it was supposed to."

"This isn't how it was supposed to work out. The plan wasn't to get back together with her. I wasn't supposed to get drunk and wake up in her bed. Especially with no memory of how I got there."

"Ah, I see the problem."

"Thank you. I was beginning to think you aren't as smart as you sometimes pretend to be."

"The problem is that you had wild make-up sex with the love of your life and you don't remember any of it."

"What? No, Finn." Logan stopped himself, frustrated. "Never mind. No more plans. No more anything. I'm just going to cut her off. No more contact."

"So you slept with the girl, and now, with no warning, her constant correspondent of the past several weeks is just going to disappear?"

"Yes."

"Wow, Logan. I never knew you to be so cruel."

"Cruel? How is that cruel? String is a faceless email correspondent. She doesn't even know him. Losing him won't mean anything to her."

"If you say so, Logan."

Logan hung up the phone and sighed. He knew he had to cut himself off from any contact with Rory. The temptation to just fall back into their old comfortable pattern was too great, and he knew that's not what he wanted. Well, he wanted it. He just didn't think his heart could survive another go-round with her. It would end badly. She didn't love him the way he would always love her, he knew that. She had showed him as much two years ago.

Logan stood from his couch and walked to the liquor cabinet. He was still hungover, thinking about the hair of the dog, but also wanting to wash away the image that was currently etched in his brain. This was Rory, gloriously naked, sleeping in his arms with a contented smile on her lips.

He had stared at her for what seemed like forever before finally getting up and leaving. The urge to stay there had been overwhelming. Almost as overwhelming as the urge to kiss her awake and make love to her. He had finally slipped out of bed and quietly dressed. He considered leaving her a note, but couldn't imagine what he would say. She would know what had happened and why he had left. He didn't need a note to tell her that.

He had turned at the door to look at her once more. The blankets had slipped down, exposing her breasts to his gaze. He had hesitated a moment before returning to the bed to pull the blankets up and tuck her in. He had unconsciously brought his lips to her forehead, but pulled back when realization crashed upon him. He then left without another backwards glance.

Logan tossed back a shot of his favorite scotch, savoring the burn as it went down. This was going to be a hellish weekend.

* * *

It had been a week since _The Night_. It was Friday night again and Eden had tried to convince her to go out with the gang, but Rory was still busy wallowing. She checked her email again, hoping String had sent something – anything, maybe a quick excuse for his silence. She was trying to tell herself that String was busy with his real life. He hadn't posted anything on his blog in all that time, either. But even knowing that, it was hard not to feel like everyone had abandoned her.

Her phone ringing disturbed Rory's musings. She looked at the caller ID and saw it was Lorelai. Her mother was still upset about Rory's decision to move to San Francisco, and it had been a few weeks since they had last talked. Rory considered ignoring the call but decided to do the grown up thing and speak to her mother.

"Hello?"

"Rory," Lorelai said in a clipped tone.

"Yes, Mom," Rory responded in an equally clipped tone.

"I'm just calling to check in on you. You know, like a mother should."

Rory sighed before replying. "I'm fine. The job is good, the apartment is good, the city is good. Everything is good."

"Well. I guess that's good then, isn't it?"

"Yes it is."

"Have you seen Logan, yet?"

Rory was silent. She could sense her mom directing the conversation to her favorite topic: denigrating Logan.

"Actually, yes. I ran into him last week. We had a few drinks together and it was a nice time." Rory thought it best she left out the details of just how nice a time it really was.

"So, what, are you back together with him?"

"No, Mom. I told you, moving to San Francisco had nothing to with Logan and I'm not going to get back together with him. Is it so wrong to have a drink with an ex? I seem to recall your proclivities with that."

"When you're still as hung up on the guy as you are, it's very wrong."

"I'm not hung up on Logan!" Rory exclaimed.

"Sure, Rory," Lorelai rolled her eyes. "That's why you moved to San Francisco. Because you're completely over him."

"I can't talk to you when you get like this, Mom. Call me when you're ready to talk about something other than Logan."

Rory hung up and threw her phone across the room. It landed softly on the bed, making it that much less satisfying. Rory closed her eyes and felt her body tense with building anger and frustration. She pulled on a pair of running shoes and a jacket and left the house for a run. A run without goal or destination. _Oh endorphins,_ Rory thought,_ help me forget today._

* * *

Monday morning Logan was working in his office when he heard a commotion on the other side of his closed door. He could hear his assistant, Catherine, shouting, "Miss, you can't go in there without an appointment!" right before the door opened and Rory slipped in.

Logan jumped up. "Rory, what are you doing here?"

"Logan, we need to talk."

The horrifying thought that Rory was pregnant flashed through Logan's head before he realized it was too soon to know if that was the situation. Besides, no matter how drunk he was Logan was sure he had used protection.

"What do we need to talk about?" Logan asked, sitting back down and turning his attention back to the email he had been typing.

"Us."

Logan froze. He stated very deliberately, "Rory, there is no us."

"You can't possibly believe that, Logan. There will always be an _us_. I mean, just look at what happened after only a few drinks."

"It was more than a few drinks, Rory, and you know it."

"Well, you know what they say about drunks and the truth."

"The truth?" Logan stood up and moved in front of Rory. "The truth, Rory, is that I was drunk and horny. And you made yourself very available to me. I took advantage of that, and I'm sorry."

Rory flinched. "You don't mean that, Logan."

"That I'm sorry? I mean it more than I have ever meant it before. That night shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have let it happen. For that, I'm sorry." Logan turned back to his desk, but Rory put her hand on his arm to stop him. He froze at her touch.

"Logan, does it really matter why it happened? Can't we talk about it and what it meant?"

"It meant nothing!" Logan said firmly, turning back to face her. "It was sex. That's it."

Rory's anger began to overshadow her hurt. "Logan, I do not just have sex. You know that. And this wasn't just sex, even for you. You know it's not true."

Logan looked at her, his expression unmoving.

"So you're saying that this is all in my head. For some reason I find that hard to believe."

"I was drunk, Rory! It never would have happened sober, and you know it!" Logan said, trying to sound exasperated.

"That's your excuse for everything, isn't it? 'I can't be held responsible for any of my actions because I'm just too wasted all the time.' Grow up, Logan!"

Rory watched as Logan's eyes filled with pain. Despite a pang of remorse, she was too angry to apologize.

"I think we've said all we have to say to each other. Good bye, Rory." Logan turned his back on her and walked to the window.

Rory stormed out without another word, slamming the door behind her. Logan continued to stare out the window, trying to hold back the tears he could feel pricking the back of his eyes. He prided himself on how much he had grown and matured since college, and Rory's accusation that he was still the same-old drunk and irresponsible fuck-up was like a knife through his heart.

He looked down at the street and could see Rory leave the building. She turned her head up to his window, and he stepped back quickly so she wouldn't see him watching her. He could still see her, though, and his eyes widened as she wiped her cheek, brushing away tears. Two tears to escaped down his own cheeks.

* * *

"Rory, you're back!" Eden said as Rory returned to the office.

"I'm back," Rory replied, dejectedly.

"Uh oh," Andrew said. "That doesn't sound good."

Eden shot Andrew a look before taking Rory's arm and steering her right back out the door. "We're going for coffee," she called over her shoulder.

When they were seated in the coffee shop down the street, Eden began. "Want to tell me what happened?"

"I went to see Logan."

"I kind of figured."

"Yeah, well, we fought."

Eden waited for Rory to continue, but when she didn't she said, "Isn't that what you expected to happen?"

"No! I went there hoping to talk. I don't want to fight with him. I want to talk things through and make him see my side of things. Make him see that things have changed and I want things to change."

"Rory, you went in there unwilling to listen to him, though. You just wanted him to admit that you were right and he was wrong."

Rory slumped down in her chair. She could see Eden's point and suddenly she felt like an idiot for going to see Logan at all. "So what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, first of all, I think you need to give him time. And then, I think you need to go see him and apologize. For everything. But don't expect him to forgive you. Then, leave the ball in his court. Let him be the one to make the next move."

Rory nodded. "So, how long do I have to wait?"


End file.
